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Governors and Presidential Convoys: a threat to Road Safety in Nigeria.

By Louis Brown Ogbeifun | April 23, 2010

On March 8th 2010, Businessday reported that Lyel Imoke was involved in an accident after the burial ceremony of a PDP stalwart in the State. The accident was said to have occurred Saturday 6th March 2010 in the wee hours of the morning on his way to Obudu ranch, Cross River State Nigeria where he wanted to rest for the night. The report further stated that the Governor sustained a fracture of one of his limbs while the Governor’s Chief Security Officer (CSO) was also said to have been injured.  No mention was made of the driver of the vehicle. Later, it was reported that the driver has been suspended from duty.

Topographically, the road leading to Obudu Ranch is hilly and steep.  At 2.30am one would expect it to be “pitch” black, foggy and accompanied with poor visibility. The driver was said to have complained of tiredness and poor visibility. Two kilometers to the 11 kilometer ranch, the driver was said to have lost control of the vehicle and the crash occurred. 

The 234NEXT on April 8th 2010 reported that the driver was said to have been on the road for “some 17 hours” prior to the time of the accident. This is at variance with the report of Businessday but in consonance with the abuse of drivers and the undermining of road safety on Nigerian roads by government officials. On this issue, some questions that the managers of Imoke’s protocol must answer are:

  1. Why must a driver that resumed duty in the morning still be driving at 2.30 am?
  2. Did the driver truly complain of tiredness and poor visibility?
  3. If yes, who ordered him to continue with the journey?
  4.  Shouldn’t another driver have been asked to take over from the tired driver?
  5. If yes, why was he not deployed?
  6. Why Obudu ranch at that time of the night when the Government House would have been easier to reach?
  7. Was a panel constituted to investigate the crash?
  8. If yes, what were the findings of the panel and was the driver liable for the crash?
  9. Was the driver given fair hearing before the suspension from duty?
  10. Shouldn’t the protocol and Chief Security Officers have rightly advised the Governor?

Judging from the antecedents of some our public officers, I know that sheer bravado, sycophancy and overzealousness must have led to the suspension of the driver. As a labour activist, it is my candid opinion that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Civil Society Organizations must stand up for this driver. He should not be sacrificed to cover the inefficiency of some public officers that failed in their duties. He should be recalled to his duty post immediately.   

This issue has brought to the fore the carelessness and recklessness of the entourage and convoys of elected public officers. They are known for over speeding and lack of respect for other road users. The pilot and lead vehicles scare other road users and force them off the road. In such malady, both past and previous leaders have been involved in fatal road accidents.

On 25th March 2010, vanguard reported that about five people were seriously injured along Kankara-Seme-Gusau road when two SUVs on Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State’s convoy had a head-on collision with a commercial vehicle.

On 22nd March 2001; Thisday reported “the convoy of Vice-President Atiku Abubakar was in Calabar involved in multiple accidents which left the Deputy Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Hon. Patrick Antigha Ene and some policemen seriously injured”.

On 23rd August 2009, Elendu reported that “Nigeria’s Senate President’s convoy was involved in a motor accident early on  Sunday 22nd August 2009. The accident occurred about 150 meters to the Games Village estate on Oladipo Diya road, Abuja at about 11.15am. According to eyewitnesses, a black Land cruiser V8 sports utility vehicle which was one of the two land cruisers in the Senate President’s convoy ran into a stationary Audi vehicle.  Two of the Senate president’s aides were injured”.

 The examples are legion. Most of the accidents have been attributed to man-made errors. On April 10, 2010, the Champion reported that Uduaghan, the Governor of Delta State was quoted as saying “Some of the convoy drivers are reckless and take advantage of being in the convoy to be irresponsible and misbehave in movements. It is even worse sometimes when the Governors are not in the convoy”.

This is a statement of fact. The other leg of this statement is that the Governors and these public officers are the real culprits by proxy. Our laws prohibit any driver revving above 100 kilometers per hour (KMPH) even on the express way. So, for any public officer no matter the position, to allow his or her driver to over speed is tantamount to abuse of office and the breach of the road safety laws.

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) was established in 1988 vide FRSC Act Cap 141 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria LFN, 1990 as amended. This Commission has tried over the years to maintain sanity on Nigerian roads but the activities of Presidential and Governors’ convoys pose grave danger to other road users and undermine the activities of the FRSC. Public officers should learn to respect the law.

Let us cultivate the habit of respect for other road users. A little patience and caution on the side of those who should know will greatly reduce carnage on our roads. I sympathize with those injured in the Lyel Imoke’s accident especially those left behind while Imoke was flown abroad. I wish them speedy recovery.

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One Response to “Governors and Presidential Convoys: a threat to Road Safety in Nigeria.”

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    April 23rd, 2010 at 9:38 am

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